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White House Talking Points on Yellen

By Carol E. Lee

President Barack Obama

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The White House is touting Janet Yellen, President Barack Obama’s pick to chair the Federal Reserve, as an “exceptionally well-qualified” candidate who has bipartisan support and understands “how monetary policy can make a difference for jobs, growth and the lives of ordinary people,” according to a memo sent to Democrats Wednesday morning.

“In her time in the Federal Reserve System she has been known for her sound judgment and ability to build consensus,” the memo says. “Colleagues across the spectrum have praised her and expressed admiration for her abilities and qualifications even when they don’t agree with her — including conservative economists like Greg Mankiw, Glenn Hubbard and Martin Feldstein.”

Mr. Obama is scheduled to announce Ms. Yellen, the Fed’s vice chair, as his nominee to replace Chairman Ben Bernancke during a 3 p.m. event Wednesday at the White House. The announcement culminates a very public tussle over the president’s top choices for the job, in particular resistance from members of both parties to the potential selection of former White House economist Lawrence Summers.

The White House memo previews the case Mr. Obama is likely to make for her nomination. Leaning heavily on Mr. Obama’s economic message of championing the middle class, the memo refers to Ms. Yellen as a “consensus builder” who understands the Fed is “above politics or parochial interests.” It says her “hard-headed non-ideological view towards monetary policy” will guide her role as carrying out the Fed’s “dual mandate to promote price stability and maximize employment.”

“She cares deeply about jobs and real people but approaches those issues through a hard-headed approach that is based on economic models, data, and her extraordinary experience in monetary policy,” the White House memo says.

It does not directly note that Ms. Yellen will be the first woman to chair the Fed, a milestone some of Mr. Obama’s supporters had pressed as he weighed his decision. Instead it leaves that mention to a quote from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, saying: “I commend President Obama on his selection of Dr. Yellen to be the first woman to serve as Federal Reserve Chairman.”